2 June 2016 - Focused on the manufacture and sale of natural feed additive products, Anpario plc has noticed a recent spike in interest from meat protein producers for its natural range of products. The UK-based company is not only in a position to provide options for producers, but - thanks to its willingness to inform customers of the added-value its products provide - is also benefitting from the fact that food producers are increasingly aware of the importance of intestinal health, which can be strengthened by using natural feed additives.

Feedinfo News Service spoke to Anpario’s Dr. Leon Broom, Senior R&D Scientist, to get a better idea of what the company means by “higher value natural feed additives” and the opportunities they create for Anpario and the meat protein sector in general.

[Feedinfo News Service] Dr. Broom, can you provide us with an overview of Anpario's expertise in natural feed additives and the company's best-selling products?

[Leon Broom] Anpario’s expertise is focused on intestinal and animal health, and utilizing this understanding to improve animal performance and producer profitability. Intestinal health is now widely recognized as a primary factor driving animal health, wellbeing and performance, and Anpario offers a wide range of products in this area. Our natural organic acid, phytogenic and mineral-based additives are proven to improve feed quality, intestinal and animal health and thus performance. Our expertise has been developed over many years and we now work with key research sites and universities across the world, to further develop the understanding, application and future evolution of our products. Our best selling products are our Genex range of products, Neutox, Orego-Stim, pHorce, Salkil and Ultrabond.

[Feedinfo News Service] What are the trends driving demand for natural feed additives and how is Anpario able to stay close to customer needs?

[Leon Broom] Anpario’s understanding of controlling microbial contamination and fermentation was formed in the development and application of silage additives. Then, in the 1980s, Anpario applied its knowledge to controlling microbial contamination of raw materials and poultry finished feeds, notably Salmonella, particularly in the wake of the UK egg Salmonella scare. Since then, the focus on the elimination of antibiotics for growth promotional use in many parts of the world, whilst striving to increase meat production for a growing global population, is a primary driver for our natural feed additives. In some parts of the world, there are even requirements to reduce therapeutic antimicrobial use and this is further increasing interest in our products. In addition, there remains a widespread desire to reduce enteropathogens from food producing animals and at the same time, there is a reluctance to continue using some other antimicrobial compounds (e.g. formaldehyde). All of these factors are combining to accelerate the demand for Anpario’s products.

Our company size puts us in a strong position to be working with and listening directly to our customers. We strive to work closely with our customers and provide solutions to their challenges and needs. We have a global presence, offices and subsidiaries in key parts of the world and our experienced regional teams have a deep understanding of their markets and customers. Furthermore, Anpario is not part of a larger agricultural group and is solely focused on specialty feed additives, meaning we are able to listen and respond to customer needs independently.

[Feedinfo News Service] Since the disposal in March 2015 of your organic feed division, Anpario has been even more focused on higher value natural feed additive products. How are global agricultural markets responding to your company's momentum?

[Leon Broom] Our business success in global markets is encouraging us to invest in senior technical and commercial people in the regions who can support both our distributors and end customers more effectively. Having support closer to the end user means we are better able to understand the customers’ production issues and recommend an effective solution which may or may not include the use of our products. Our strongest regions are the Americas and Asia Pacific, including China, where we have experienced strong growth and an increasing awareness of our technology in the industry.

[Feedinfo News Service] Orego-Stim is a market leading phytogenic feed additive which, according to the company, is based on production technology that ensures product consistency and thus reliable performance improvements in the animal. How will Orego-Stim enable further growth opportunities for your company moving forward?

[Leon Broom] Orego-Stim has been in the market for several years and is the leading phytogenic feed additive brand. In the past, there has been a perception that variation in plant species, growing conditions, weather, etc., all contribute to seasonal/batch-to-batch variation in the consistency of phytogenic feed additives, which will clearly then affect the consistency of animal responses to these additives. With Orego-Stim, the production process means that these challenges have been overcome and the product is produced within tight tolerances that ensure product consistency and predictable animal responses. Having a consistent product has meant that Orego-Stim’s success has continued to grow over the years, particularly in response to increasing interest in alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters. Once producers use the product and experience consistent animal responses, they then become very loyal to Orego-Stim. Orego-Stim provides numerous benefits, some of which have only come to light through recent research. There is opportunity for further, significant growth potential with Orego-Stim as we better understand the full potential of the product and expand into previously untouched markets.

[Feedinfo News Service] In phytogenics, a differentiating factor for a company is the knowledge of the effects of specific compounds and their mode of action in livestock. How considerably better has Anpario's understanding of phytogenics developed in recent years?

[Leon Broom] Anpario has a much better understanding of phytogenics. Our key phytogenic product, Orego-Stim, is based on our oregano oil. The main components of oregano oil are carvacrol and thymol, which have been reported in many studies to be very effective antimicrobials, including effects against viruses, as well has having other features such as antioxidant and immunomodulatory activity. In terms of composition, the oregano oil used in Orego-Stim falls well within reported quality parameters of at least 55% carvacrol and thymol and a ratio of greater than 10. We continue to do much more work with phytogenics to better understand how to apply their potential more widely in animal production, as well as looking at synergies with other natural compounds/additives.

[Feedinfo News Service] Trials in the US have demonstrated that when Orego-Stim is used in combination with a coccidiosis vaccine for broiler chickens, it complements the vaccine so that it does not affect the performance of the bird, yet is still effective in controlling the disease. How will Anpario's sales teams be capitalising on these findings?

[Leon Broom] Previous work published in the Journal of Poultry Science in 2014 had indicated that Orego-Stim reduced the expression of genes associated with intestinal inflammation in birds challenged with 10x dose of a coccidiosis vaccine. The intestine needs appropriate immune responses but excessive responses (inflammation) are damaging to the intestine and the bird. The recent work in the US demonstrated that whilst vaccination is effective at developing immunity in birds, it can compromise performance. However, Orego-Stim in combination with a coccidiosis vaccine, probably through its immunomodulatory effects, provided effective immunity against coccidiosis without compromising performance. Coccidiosis is a major challenge for the poultry industry globally and there are a number of aspects to the work that the sales team can utilise. The main points, however, are that Orego-Stim is very compatible with coccidiosis vaccines and, in fact, the combination will help restore performance of immunized birds as well as allowing them to benefit more widely from Orego-Stim supplementation.

[Feedinfo News Service] What are the challenges of feeding the modern hyper-prolific sow? What solutions does Anpario offer?

[Leon Broom] The modern hyperprolific sow has been selected to produce large litter sizes, often more than her physical teat capacity. To support optimum pre weaning growth of such large litter sizes, the sow must be able to acquire sufficient nutrients for adequate milk production and prevent excessive loss of her body condition. Thus, there is an ever increasing need to maximise lactating sow feed intakes but there can be numerous factors that may prevent this from being achieved. Such factors can be feed hygiene and gut health and Anpario’s organic acid-based products can overcome these challenges. Mycotoxins can also be a considerable challenge, particularly for highly productive animals consuming large quantities of feed. Our mycotoxin binders can deal with these challenges. An area that has come to light more recently are the physiological and oxidative stresses that the sow experiences, particularly around the time of farrowing. Recent published work has shown that Orego-Stim can reduce the sow’s oxidative stress and increase lactation feed intake and preweaning piglet growth.

[Feedinfo News Service] Anpario carried out a technical initiative by combining its organic acid products to work with its enzyme products to improve gut health - and this with minimal or no extra cost to the farmer. Can you share the specifics of this initiative?

[Leon Broom] Enzymes, particularly phytases, are now well accepted and have become common additives in animal feeds. Likewise, organic acids are also common feed additives. Work conducted in 2013, and published in Livestock Science, showed that adding one of our organic acid products (Salkil) to broiler diets could partially compensate for a reduction in available phosphorus. Of most interest was the fact that adding the organic acid product over the top of a phytase, produced further improvements in terms of immune responses and performance. We have developed this concept through further trial work and, given improvements in nutrient digestibility with both enzymes and organic acids, we can assign nutrient contributions to both the enzymes and organic acid. The nutritionist can then use the product matrix values in the feed formulation, which allows the additives to be included at minimal or no extra cost, while benefiting from the improvements in gut health associated with organic acid (and enzyme) use.

[Feedinfo News Service] In April 2015, Anpario won The Queen's Award for Enterprise for Outstanding Achievement in International Trade. Now, one year later, how has this award helped unlock further opportunities for Anpario?

[Leon Broom] British companies, particularly those manufacturing in the UK, are highly regarded around the world. The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Outstanding Achievement in International Trade was a great achievement for the company and our employees. The award provides further recognition of Anpario’s efforts and success in recent years and, in many ways, is an additional seal of approval for a UK company, which further enhances our global reputation. The award has created publicity and interest in all our markets and this has undoubtedly helped to create new opportunities with new and existing customers; as well as giving customers the confidence that they are dealing with an organisation with high quality products and total business integrity.